Tuesday 4 November 2008 11.50 EST
First published on Tuesday 4 November 2008 11.50 EST

The Ebenezer Baptist Church in downtown Atlanta retains a special place in the history of post-war America. It was here that Martin Luther King Jr grew up listening to the sermons of his father; it was here that he made some of his most powerful speeches as pastor from 1960; and it was here that his funeral was held after he was shot on a motel balcony in Memphis on April 4, 1968, his dream as yet unrealized.

A block away from the Ebenezer yesterday, 40 years and seven months from his assassination, an element of that dream was finally taking physical shape. From well before 6am, an hour before the polls opened, a line of about 300 people had begun to form that was dignified, quiet – somber almost – but fully aware of the huge significance of the occasion.

Horace Kelley, 75, standing in the middle of the queue, was born in the neighbourhood and used to play softball in the church grounds with AD King, Martin Luther's younger brother. He said he was casting his vote for Barack Obama in order to secure a better future for young black people.

"When I was growing up you used to know what was out there on the streets. We were mistreated openly. Now you cannot see it, but it's still there," he said.

In polling booths across the city, the exceptional nature of the day was on full display, with huge lines of voters snaking around blocks and waiting for more than two hours to have their voices recorded. Even that outpouring of electoral enthusiasm was deceptively muted – about 2 million voters across the state of Georgia had already cast their ballots by mail or standing in early voting lines that lasted in some cases for up to six hours, with an anticipated 3.2 million waiting to vote on the day itself.

Election officials expect that the tally of registered Georgians who by the end of the day will have cast their votes will be as high as 90%. Some polls suggest that the race is too close to call in Georgia, a state that has voted Republican in every presidential election since it swung behind Bill Clinton in 1992.

Most of the voters queuing up next to Ebenezer church were African-American, and universally backing Obama. "This is history," said Salaam Ali, a motorbike courier, 53. "I never thought I'd see the day when I could vote for a black president.

"As children we were taught to pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America. We were also told to believe in the idea of liberties and justice for every American. I've never seen it happen. Now it's time."